Labour leader Keir Starmer makes pitch to lead Britain as protester storms stage

Labour leader Keir Starmer shrugged off a protester who doused him in glitter onstage during his party conference speech to deliver a powerful pitch to be Britain’s next prime minister, promising a decade of “national renewal”.

“People are looking to us because they want to build a new Britain. And we are the builders,” he told the Labour faithful.

Sir Keir received a rapturous reception from the thousands of party delegates who had squeezed into the conference hall in Liverpool’s docklands, while outside the queue to get in stretched out the front door of the venue and all the way down to the banks of the river Mersey.

Within seconds of Sir Keir walking onstage, however, a man from a Just Stop Oil-linked group demanding political reform rushed the stage to boos from the crowd. The Labour leader held him at bay until security arrived. He then removed his glitter covered jacket and continued with his speech, telling the hall that “if he thinks that bothers me, he doesn’t know me”.

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Like Monday’s speech by shadow chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir’s big address was light on policy specifics with no new major initiatives. Instead, it was designed as a rousing rallying cry in advance of next year’s election to answer the question for voters of “why Labour?”

Referencing the political and economic upheaval that has plagued Britain in recent years, Sir Keir said the way back would be “hard”.

“[But] what is broken can be repaired. What is ruined can be rebuilt. Wounds do heal,” he said, drawing one of more than a dozen standing ovations from the revved-up crowd that punctuated his hour-long address.

Although he largely skirted around specific policy details, Sir Keir focused heavily on housing, healthcare and delivering economic growth in his speech.

He promised to get the UK’s strained National Health Service “back on its feet” if he wins the election, which is expected in May or October of next year. “I know some people don’t like the word ‘reform’ but I tell you now there’s no other option,” he said.

He promised to “bulldoze” through constraints in Britain’s planning system to build 1.5 million new homes, as well as upgrading the country’s national grid and other essential infrastructure.

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“This Labour Party will fight the next election on economic growth,” he said, making a direct appeal to Tory voters who may be disillusioned with that party to switch to Labour. The “Tory mindset”, he said, is not to solve problems, but to “exploit them”.

One of Sir Keir’s biggest ovations came when he criticised the Conservative party for rolling back several climate change measures.

He also announced that a new Great British Energy company that Labour plans to establish will be based in Scotland, which the Labour Party is targeting for major gains at the next election.

He told party members to remain “disciplined and focused” as the next election campaign looms into view. “We’ve dragged this party back to service. We can do the same for politics,” he said.

Labour’s conference ends on Wednesday. The Scottish National Party then holds its conference next week in Aberdeen, before the Westminster parliament returns after a four-week recess.